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Syrian Crisis: Massive Displacement, Dire Needs and a Shortage of Solutions

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Syrian Crisis: Massive Displacement, Dire Needs and a Shortage of Solutions September 18, 2013 SYRIAN CRISIS: MASSIVE DISPLACEMENT, DIRE NEEDS AND A SHORTAGE OF SOLUTIONS ELIZABETH FERRIS, KEMAL KIRIŞCI AND SALMAN SHAIKH Elizabeth Ferris Co-Director, Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Kemal Kirişci Director, Turkey Project, Center on the United States and Europe TÜSİAD Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Salman Shaikh Director, Brookings Doha Center Fellow, Saban Center for Middle East Policy Acknowledgements: With thanks to Chareen Stark and Vittoria Federici for their research assistance, to Leah Denman for her preparation of the final publication and to the Brookings Foreign Policy Director’s Strategic Initiative Fund for its financial support of this research. Front Cover Photograph: Syrian refugee children post with their siblings in Amman, Jordan, August 19, 2013 (CARE/ Josh Estey) T A B L E O F CONTENTS ACRONYMS i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY iii INTRODUCTION 1 HOW DID IT ALL BEGIN? 5 THE HUMANITARIAN SITUATION INSIDE SYRIA 10 SYRIANS ON THE MOVE: INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT 11 The case of Kurdish displacement inside Syria 18 SYRIANS ON THE MOVE: REFUGEES IN NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES 20 REFUGEES IN THE REGION 25 Jordan: Hospitality under pressure 25 Lebanon: On the frontline 28 Turkey: Refugees and politics 32 Iraq: An August influx 39 Egypt: No longer welcomed 42 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 44 Recommendations 45 The Brookings Institution is a private non-profit organization. Its mission is to conduct high- quality, independent research and, based on that research, to provide innovative, practical recommendations for policymakers and the public. The conclusions and recommendations of any Brookings publication are solely those of its author(s), and do not reflect the views of the Institution, its management, or its other scholars. Brookings recognizes that the value it provides to any supporter is in its absolute commitment to quality, independence and impact. Activities supported by its donors reflect this commitment and the analysis and recommendations are not determined by any donation. Copyright © 2013 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036 ACRONYMS AFAD Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency AKP Justice and Development Party CoI Commission of Inquiry DRC Democratic Republic of the Congo EDAM Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies ERC Emergency Relief Coordinator EU European Union FSA Free Syrian Army GA General Assembly GDP Gross Domestic Product ICG International Crisis Group ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross IDPs Internally Displaced Persons IHL International Humanitarian Law IMF International Monetary Fund INGO International Non-Governmental Organization IOM International Organization for Migration ISIS Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham JAN Jabhat al-Nusrah JNAP Joint National Action Plan J-RANS Joint Rapid Assessment of Northern Syria J-RANS II Second Joint Rapid Assessment of Northern Syria KRG Kurdistan Regional Government LBP Lebanese Pound Syrian Crisis: Massive Displacement, Dire Needs and a Shortage of Solutions Page i MOU Memorandum of Understanding MSF Médecins Sans Frontières NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization NGO Non-Governmental Organization OCHA UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs PKK Kurdistan Workers’ Party PRS Palestine Refugees from Syria PYD Partiya Yekîtiya Demokrat R2P Responsibility to Protect R&R Rest and Recuperation SARC Syrian Arab Red Crescent SHARP Syria Humanitarian Assistance Response Plan SNAP Syria Needs Analysis Project UN United Nations UNHCR UN High Commissioner for Refugees UNRWA UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East UNSC United Nations Security Council WFP World Food Programme WHO World Health Organization Syrian Crisis: Massive Displacement, Dire Needs and a Shortage of Solutions Page ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY he mounting civilian casualties in Syria and the displacement of over 6 million Syrians – with prospects of both more casualties and more displacement – make this the most daunting humanitarian crisis facing the world today.1 The international community is Tstruggling to respond to the humanitarian situation inside Syria and throughout the region. Political actors, unable to agree on how to end the civil war, seem to agree that humanitarian assistance is needed,2 but the funds are neither sufficient now nor likely to be sustainable in the long term. The humanitarian crisis has implications not only for Syrian civilians, but also for the course of the conflict, governments in and beyond the region, the international humanitarian system and, indeed, for global governance. The available data paint a graphic picture of the human misery that has become commonplace in Syria. This policy brief examines the various dimensions of the Syrian humanitarian crisis. Following a brief description of the evolution of the crisis, analysis turns to the humanitarian situation inside Syria and beyond Syria’s borders, focusing on both the immediate and long-term impact of the crisis on Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey, with briefer reports on Iraq and Egypt. The brief then turns to conclusions based on this analysis and offers a series of recommendations for key stakeholders. This present summary provides a brief look at the displacement situation before presenting recommendations; further analysis is provided in the policy brief. The humanitarian effects of this conflict are horrific and we hope that this report will lead to a re- doubling of efforts by the international community and particularly by the United States, to help Syrians find a political solution and bring an end to the war. In Limbo: The Displacement Crisis While there were 2 million refugees at the time of writing, the UN estimates that there will be 3.45 million Syrian refugees in the region by the end of 2013; unfortunately, all present indications are consistent with this target being met.3 In addition, as of September 2013, there were at least 4.25 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) many of whom have been displaced multiple times in search of safety. This means that almost one-third of Syria’s people have been forced to leave their communities. It should be noted that those who are displaced may not be the individuals most in need in Syria. In fact, it is likely that those who are unable to leave their homes – because they are elderly, disabled or simply lack the resources to move – are the most vulnerable. Those who are displaced, however, do have certain identifiable needs which require assistance. 1 There were over 2 million refugees according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as of 15 September 2013, and estimates of the numbers of IDPs range from 4.25 million to 5.1 million. According to official UN figures since April 2013, as of mid-September 2013, there were 4.25 million IDPs. The higher figure of 5.1 million results from combining OCHA figures with estimates from the seven northern governorates of Syria assessed as part of the Second Joint Rapid Assessment in Northern Syria (J-RANS II); see further, Syria Needs Analysis Project (SNAP), Regional Analysis Syria, 30 May 2013, http://acaps.org/en/pages/syria-snap-project, p. 9; OCHA, OCHA Humanitarian Bulletin Syria, Issue 33, 9 September 2013, www.unocha.org/crisis/syria 2 International Crisis Group (ICG), Syria’s Metastasizing Conflicts, No.143, 27 June 2013, p. iii, www.crisisgroup.org/en/publication-type/media-releases/2013/mena/syrias-metastasising-conflicts.aspx 3 The 3.45 million figure includes some 100,000 Palestine refugees registered with and assisted by UNRWA who are projected to be displaced from Syria, mainly to Lebanon (80,000) and Jordan (10,000); see UN, Syria Regional Response Plan – January to December 2013, 7 June 2013, p. 6, http://unhcr.org/51b04c9c9.html Syrian Crisis: Massive Displacement, Dire Needs and a Shortage of Solutions Page iii The widespread displacement in Syria is the result of the failure of the Syrian government to resolve internal conflicts and to respect the basic rights of its people, and the failure of both sides of the conflict to respect international humanitarian law. The fact that so many Syrians have been displaced is also an indication of the inability of the international community to prevent the atrocities, large-scale violence, and widespread human rights violations that have forced a third of the country’s population to leave their homes. Displacement in and from Syria is highly dynamic. There seems to be a direct relationship between those displaced inside Syria and refugee movements into neighboring countries. Many of those turning up as refugees in Jordan and Lebanon report having been displaced within Syria before making it across a border. There are also reports of Syrians returning from other countries – either because of a perception that security back home has improved, because they want to check on relatives or property or because conditions in host countries are so bad. Governments in the region – those of Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt – initially responded with generosity and solidarity to the arrival of refugees on their borders. Although all of the governments have imposed restrictions on entry of one kind or another, they deserve recognition and appreciation for their policies of openness and welcome to refugees. They also deserve the financial support of the international community. It is hard to imagine Western countries responding with similar generosity should a comparable number of refugees have arrived on their borders. Governments hosting the region’s two million registered refugees need support to defray some of the economic, social and political costs they have born in allowing the refugees to enter and in providing for at least some of their basic necessities. As we discuss in this policy brief, the presence of Syrian refugees in neighboring countries incurs not only financial costs, but also presents political dilemmas for the host governments, particularly in Syrian Crisis: Massive Displacement, Dire Needs and a Shortage of Solutions Page iv their relationships with other countries in the region and the ethnic and sectarian balance in their own countries.
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